What on earth is ICANN up to?
That's the thrust of a letter from House Commerce Committee chairman Tom Bliley (R-Virginia) sent Tuesday to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) -- the body that is meant to oversee the management and evolution of the Internet.
The dispatch to Commerce Secretary William Daley and ICANN interim Chairman Esther Dyson sought an explanation of why ICANN is asking domain name registrars to pay a US$1 fee.
"Isn't this ironic," Bliley said, commenting on his letter. "Just as Governor Gilmore is working hard with the Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce to encourage the growth of electronic commerce, ICANN is imposing a tax on the Internet behind closed doors," Bliley said.
ICANN replied that it has been very up-front about the charge, which, it said, funds the group's operations.
Bliley's House Commerce Committee has primary jurisdiction in the House of Representatives over laws governing the Internet and telecommunications issues.
Bliley's office declined to provide further comment.
Government watchdog groups and members of the House Commerce Committee have been putting heat on the organization, questioning its conduct and intentions as it oversees the transition of the Internet domain-name system to a competitive operation.
On 11 June, consumer activists Ralph Nader and Jamie Love sent a similar letter to Dyson and ICANN Chairman Mike Roberts. Nader and Love questioned the scope of Internet governance issues that the group seeks to address, and asked what legal recourse would be available to consumers who wish to contest the group's decisions.
Bliley said he's a strong proponent of privatization of the domain name system. He has been monitoring ICANN's transition, sending letters to agency officials and last year holding hearings.
